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Perez Breezy Vs. Giants, Rangers Win Series

By Ben Davila

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2. 126. Final. 1. 40

In keeping with the Jekyll and Hyde nature of this season, the Texas Rangers took two of three from the defending champion San Francisco Giants over the weekend.

Further highlighting the ups and downs of this year’s campaign was the performance of Martin Perez on a scorching Sunday afternoon in Arlington.

Perez was positively breezy in throwing 8.1 innings of two-hit ball. Of the twenty-five outs he recorded, fifteen of those came on ground balls. Another six came via the strikeout.

It was a stark contrast from his last start on July 28th in which he got lit up by the New York Yankees en route to a 21-5 embarrassment.

The Martin Perez who started on Sunday was beyond efficient in baffling the Giant lineup. He was working quickly and decisively. Of his 80 pitches, an astonishing 61 were strikes.

The key offensive element that allowed Perez’s effort to stand up was a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth inning.

After a sharp ground out by Prince Fielder and a semi-deep fly out from Adrian Beltre, Mitch Moreland laced his first pitch to the alley in left field for a base hit.

Josh Hamilton then launched a hanging Mike Leake changeup just inside the right field foul pole to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead.

Relievers Jake Diekman and Sam Dyson came perilously close to wasting Perez’s outing, however. After Diekman walked the only batter he faced, Dyson responded by loading the bases.

Buster Posey was able to halve the Ranger lead with a sharp single to left field. Thankfully, the hit was shallow enough to allow only one run to score. Despite keeping the bases loaded, it would prove beneficial on the following at bat.

The mind wanders when you see a seemingly humbled Josh Hamilton provide timely offensive punch on a day where runs were at a premium. To be sure, when the big guy is on his game, his swing is still an immaculate combination of balance and power.

Dyson was then able to induce a game-ending double play when DH Hunter Pence hit a bounding ground ball to Elvis Andrus. Elvis and Rougned Odor electrified the Ranger faithful by converting the 6-4-3 to allow the Rangers to preserve the victory.

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The Rangers have now won three of their last four series, and in tying a four-gamer versus the Yankees, they haven’t lost a series since July 17-19 when they dumped two of three against the Houston Astros.

Through all of this, the Rangers are a scant three games out of the second wild card spot in the AL. Granted, the Orioles, Blue Jays, and Rays are ahead of them, but with 58 games to play, there is still time to win their way into the conversation.

The mind wanders when you see a seemingly humbled Josh Hamilton provide timely offensive punch on a day where runs were at a premium. To be sure, when the big guy is on his game, his swing is still an immaculate combination of balance and power.

The blockbuster addition of Cole Hamels will only bolster the pitching rotation. Will Derek Holland’s eventual return provide more stability? We won’t know until it happens.

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Until then, this team continues to walk a fine line between also-ran and possible contender.

Whether or not this translates into a late season run will depend on them finding some measure of consistency. The dog days will be coming to a close soon, and the crucible of late-season September baseball will be in full swing.

If the Rangers can piece together an August that resembles what they were able to accomplish in May, anything is still possible.

Stay tuned, Ranger fans. They’re starting to tease us again.

Next: Cole Hamels Trade is About who the Rangers DIDN’T Give Up

  • Published on 08/03/2015 at 04:27 AM
  • Last updated at 08/03/2015 at 04:27 AM
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